


hair's breadth

by bobmcjoe



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 14:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17245754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobmcjoe/pseuds/bobmcjoe
Summary: "It's my first time doing this," he said nervously.For the briefest instant, Kit locked eyes with Ty. "I know," Kit said simply, "I'm sure it'll be fine."Or yet another in-between scene set during qoaad, and Kit is trying his best to distract Ty.





	hair's breadth

Kit walked behind Ty down the hall, head spinning. They had just obtained their first spell ingredient from the Shadow Market, and suddenly everything seemed so real. Like Ty was actually going to raise Livvy from the dead. Like _they_ were actually going to raise Livvy from the dead.

Ty was clutching the little container that held the chalk in his hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. Chalk powdered from the bones of a murder victim. It had belonged to some body once, bones in a living, breathing human, a person who had been killed by another person- Kit's stomach roiled at the thought.

Wordlessly, he followed Ty into his room. Ty's room was an on-going disaster now, and Kit felt something in his chest crack when he thought of how neat and orderly the room had been before. More books lay scattered on the floor, clothes shoved into a corner like an afterthought. Ty swept something off his desk dismissively and carefully set the little jar in the centre of his desk.

Ty was smiling widely. "We're one step closer now," he said.

Kit nodded numbly. This was happening. He did not think it would really happen. He had kept thinking that somewhere along the way, an inevitable obstacle would come up and Ty would realise that all this was wrong.

But wasn't he the one going along with Ty's plans, encouraging, helping him, to perform necromancy? _By the Angel, I'm an enabler_ , he thought, _the worst kind_. He had to find a way to distract Ty, find something that would take away, even for just a short while, his obsessive fixation on bringing Livvy back.

"Now all we have left is the incense, myrrh, and the object from another world," Ty was saying. Kit couldn't quite process the words, still horrified by the reality of their actions, caught in the feeling that they hurtling down into a black hole. "The incense and myrrh shouldn't be too hard to find, but I'm worried about the object from another-"

"Can you cut my hair?" Kit asked suddenly.

For a moment Ty gaped at him, mouth slightly open. "Cut your hair?" he echoed.

Kit nodded quickly. Would this count as a distraction?

"But why?" Ty asked, bewildered.

"You said I ought to get it cut, right?" Kit said. He bit his lip. Belatedly, he wondered if Ty was upset that Kit had interrupted him.

Luckily, Ty had turned his attention to Kit now, though his hand was still on the jar. "I did say that," he said slowly, "but I don't know how to cut hair. Jules always did it."

Julian with scissors near Kit's neck? Kit wasn't really a fan of that idea, considering how intimidating Julian was. Besides, Julian wasn't here right now.

"I don't mind though," Kit reassured.

Ty looked at him consideringly. _Please do this for me_ , Kit begged in his mind. _Just forget about the spell for now. And maybe forever._

"I mean, how hard can it be?" Kit wheedled. He took a tiny step forward. Ty stepped away from the desk, towards Kit.

"Even if it turns out badly, it's okay. Hair grows back. Everyone starts somewhere," Kit urged softly. Ty took another step towards him, eyes flicking to his hair then back to his collarbone.

"Please." He looked up at Ty through his eyelashes.

It seemed to work. Ty stared at him, then blinked once, twice, before nodding his head. "Okay then."

Kit let out a mental sigh of relief.

-

Kit perched anxiously on his chair in Ty's bathroom. In hindsight, this was probably a bad idea. Letting a boy his own age with a questionably stable mental state cut his hair definitely fell on Kit's list of Stupid Things I Should Not Do. But then again, so did necromancy.

A moment later, he felt Ty's hand running through his hair, nails scratching lightly against his scalp. The sensation left tingles running down his spine, and Kit's eyes fell shut, almost on their own accord.

"Your hair's so soft," Ty marvelled. "Now it seems like kind of a waste to cut it." Ty's voice was hushed, and the sound of it made Kit shiver minutely. Ty wound a golden lock around his long fingers, tugging gently on his hair.

Kit peeked one eye open. In the mirror, Ty was inspecting the blond strands wrapped around his finger, his long eyelashes lowered, a strange look of wonder on his face. Kit felt his heart flip. "It's getting in the way though." His own voice sounded far away.

"I guess," Ty answered, still petting Kit's head almost tenderly. Kit could kind of understand why small animals seemed to love Ty so much- his touch was calming, and it made Kit feel safe in a way he hadn't felt in years.

Ty sighed and combed Kit's hair down before picking up the scissors. "It's my first time doing this," he said nervously.

For the briefest instant, Kit locked eyes with Ty. "I know," Kit said simply, "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Ty took a deep breath, nodding sharply and picked up a lock of hair. Kit held his breath.

There was a satisfying snip, followed by a soft patter when Kit's hair scattered over the old newspapers they had laid out. Kit's breath came out in a whoosh.

"This is kind of fun." A tiny smile was playing on Ty's lips as he took more hair.

Kit beamed back at him through the mirror, relief flooding through him. Ty was smiling, however small. He felt ridiculously proud.

Ty continued cutting Kit's hair. Kit could see his dark eyebrows furrow lightly in concentration, could hear his steady breathing in the stillness of the room and for just a short while, they let go of all the pain and heartache, forgot about dangerous and illegal spells. Kit closed his eyes again, and it was just the two of them, cocooned in their little world, safe from the outside.

Something cold touched his ear, and Kit gasped.

Ty froze, eyes widening. "Did I cut you?" His voice was shaky.

"No, I'm okay," Kit breathed. "Just- my ear."

Ty exhaled slowly. "Thank goodness." He traced the shell of Kit's ear, his touch as delicate as the wings of a butterfly. Kit lost the ability to breathe.

Ty resumed his careful cutting, and Kit followed his movements in the mirror. Ty even managed to make something as mundane as hair cutting look elegant. It was almost unreal, how graceful Ty was.

"Kit, I think it's finished." Ty's clear voice brought him back to reality. He felt a bit light-headed, or maybe his head actually was lighter.

Kit studied himself in the mirror. "It looks good," he said, surprised.

"Really?" Ty's voice lit up.

Kit nodded earnestly. _It was really not bad_ , he thought, turning his head sideways to look at the back.

"I'm glad you like it," Ty said happily. He sounded quite pleased with himself too.

Kit tilted his head backwards to look up at Ty. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Ty looked back down at him with a smile that made Kit's heart stop, "You're welcome."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> and also thank you for all the nice comments on my other works too!! <3 
> 
> also this was entirely self-indulgent and most likely would never happen so. ((:


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